Slicing machine



Dec. 1924- 1,519,158

J. s. NAPIER ET AL SLICING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 Fla 2.

. Elwumwow MW (Imam W4 Dec. 1-6,; 1924.

J. 5. NAPIER ET AL SLICING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1-923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 5144/00/11 bow, d I Mxx;

7 J. s. NAPIER ET AL SLICING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 34 rue/m bow P/QM G-Wom m 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .IV. W4

Flled Aug 13, 1923 J.'$. NAPIER ET AL SLICING MACHINE Dec, 16,

Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,519,158 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. NAPIER, ERNEST M. PORTER, AND JOHN SILVA, OF HONOLULU, TERRITORY OF HAWAII, ASSIGNO'RS TO HAWAIIAN PINEAPPLE COMPANY,

LULU', TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

LIMITED, OF HONO- SLICING MACHINE.

Applicationflled Aug-nit 13, 1928. Serial Nb. 6I i7,089.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that JOHN S. NAPIER, ER- NEST M. PORTER, and JOHN SILVA, citizens of the United States, and residents of Honolulu, county of Honolulu, Territo of Hawaii, have invented certain new an useful Improvements in Slicing Mach nes; and they. do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skllled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a machine for slicing articles, such as frults and vegetables, and has for its object to provide an automatic machine including means for intermittently feeding the articles to and through a tubular head provided with circumferential slots, with which slots cooperate .a series of continuously rotating knives, the blades of which traverse the tubular head transversely during a part of each rotation to slice the articles held stationary within the head and clear the interior of the head during the remaining part of the rotation to permit the feeding means, which is at rest during the slicing operation, to resume its'operation to force the sliced article from the head on to a discharge belt and to. deliver the next article to be sliced to the head, suitable means, preferably, being provided for delivering the articles in properly timed relation to the feeding means.

The invention is illustrated'in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation broken away in artp 3 is a rear elevation broken away in P Fig. 4 is a plan view;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view on line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation on line 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detailed view of a single knife;

Fi r. 8 is a side elevation of the knife carrier illustrating the mode of assembling the knife elements;

Fig. 9 is a plan view partly in section of the tubular head.

Referring to the'drawings, 1 indicates the frame or standard of the machine provided with a suitable top frame section 2 and ,a laterally extending bracket 3 upon which bracket is mounted an electric motor 4, which constitutes the prime mover of the machine. The motor 4 is preferably connected by a drive chain 5 with a sprocket wheel 5 which is loose upon the countershaft 6, a suitable clutch comprising a sliding member 7 is sp-lined to the shaft 6. and the member 8 connected with sprocket 5-, the movable member being actuated by a hand lever 9. East to the shaft 6 is a worm 11 which engages a worm wheel 12 fast on the shaft 13, journaled in bearing brackets mounted on the top of the machine, one of said brackets constituting a casing 14 which encloses the worm gearing 11 and 12. Fast on the shaft 13 is a worm gear 15 which meshes with a gear 16 fast on the shaft 17, which latter is journaled in bearing 18 on the upper portion of the machine frame and extends at right angles to the shaft 13 and constitutes a countershaft for driving certain elements of the machine as hereinafter explained.

Secured to'the outer end of the shaft 13 is a helical or worm gear 19 having helical teeth on half of its periphery and a single circumferential tooth or rib on the other half and the said gear cooperating with a helical gear 20 mounted on a transverse shaft 21 journaled in bearings 22 on the top of the machine, the gear 19 serving as a timing gear which drives gear 20 and shaft 21 positively for each half revolution of shaft 13 and retains said gear 20 and shaft 21 stationary during the remaining half revolution of said shaft.

Fast to shaft 17 is a sprocket wheel 24 connected by a chain 25 with a sprocket 26 fast to a shaft 27 journaled in the lower part of the machine standard, upon which is secured a sprocket 28 connected by chain 29 with a sprocket 30 on shaft 31 journaled near the bottom of the machine, which latter shaft carries a drum 32 which constitutes the driving element of a discharge or delivery belt 33, which extends from the rear of the machine over a guide drum 34, said belt receiving the sliced fruit and delivering the same to the desired point. Se-

cured to the opposite end of the shaft 27 is a. sprocket 35 connected by a chain 36 with a sprocket 37 fast to a cross shaft 38, which is journaled in bearings 39. on the ends of brackets 40'projecting forwardly from the machine frame. Secured to the shaft 38 is a sprocket 41 which constitutes the driving element of the conveyor feed chain 42, provided with spaced arms or dogs 43, the upper reach ofsaid chain op erating in a trough 46 having a slotted bottom, said chain and trough forming a conveyor for delivering the articles to be sliced to the machine. Secured to the front end of the machine in alignment with the trough 46 is a short trough section 44 which receives the articles to be sliced from the conveyor chain and positions said articles successively for delivery into a tubular slicing head which is secured by bolts to a cross bar 76 extending longitudinally of the upper frame 2 of the machine.

The head 70 comprises a generally cylindrical casting having two laterally extending legs 71 separated by a longitudinal slot 72, the legs being bolted to the cross beam 76. The head 70 is provided with a series of parallel spaced circumferential slots 73, which are engaged by and cooperate with the slicing knives to be hereinafter described.

The articles to be sliced are delivered intermittently to the interior of the head 70, where they are held stationary during the slicing operation, and in order to effect the intermittent feeding of the articles into the head and the discharge of the same from the head after the slicing operation has been effected, a special form of feeding mechanism is provided, said feeding mechanism bein actuated by the timing gear 19 on the shaft 13. Secured to the rear end of the shaft 21, which is intermittently driven by the gears 19 and 20, is a sprocket wheel 50 which is connected by a chain 51 with a sprocket wheel 52 mounted on a cross shaft 53 journaled in the bracket 54 projecting from the forward face of the frame section 2. On the opposite end of the shaft 53 is fastened a sprocket 55 which drives a ,feed chain 64 which is carried by guide sprockets 56, 57 and 58, disposed with the sprocket 55 in generally quadrilateral arrangement, so that the chain traverses the longitudinal slot 72 in the foot portion of the head 70. The sprockets '56 and 57 are mounted on stub shafts connected to cross bars of the machine frame and sprocket 58 is journaled on the end of a swing arm 59, which is connected by a pivot 60 to a bracket 61 on the front face of the machine, a set screw 62 adjustably mounted in an arm of the bracket 60v serving to adjust the arm 59 to regulate the tension of the chain 64 by swinging the arm 59 and the guide sprocket 58 carried thereby toward and from the front face of the machine frame.

Secured at spaced intervals of the chain 64 are laterally disposed pusher arms 65,

which terminate in disc-like ends, the arms on the end of the shaft 13. The said shaft I 83 carries and operates the slicing knives, which are driven with a continuous rotary motion and, in order to effect the engage-v ment of the knife blades with the slots in the head 7 O at the proper time, the composite knife structure and installation is effected as follows. Each knife comprises a central hub section 85 and a lateral blade section 86, arcuate in form and so disposed as to transverse the corresponding slot in the head 70 and sweep over the entire area of the .cross section of the head defined by the slot,

and thereby effect a draw-cutthrough the fruit or other article contained in the head. A number of knife sections corresponding to the number of slots 73 in the head. 70 are secured together in properly spaced relation upon three bolts 89, which are mounted in collars 90, the bolts passing through spaced holes 88 in the hub section of each knife, the holes 88 in successive knives beg ing s0 disposed that the knives are arranged in staggered relation and in groups of four,

as indicated in Figures 1, 3 and 6, the entire series of knives being so disposed that the blades will all he to one side of a plane passing through thelongitudinal axis of the shaft 82 and the knife carrier, so that all of the knife blades will engage the slots in the head 70 during a part of each revolution of the knife carrier and the blades will,completely clear the slots in the head 7 0 during the other part of each revolution. The knives, as indicated, are arranged in parallel spaced relation on the bolts 89 of the carrier, the spacing being effected by suitable Washers 91, which are threaded on the bolts 89. When all of the knives and washers have been assembled on the carrier, the nuts on the bolts 89 are set up to clamp the elements of the knife assembly into a rigid structure which is secured to the shaft 83 by suitable fastening means associated with the hub members 90 of the carrier.

When motor 4 is energized and the clutch member 7 moved into engagement with the cooperating member 8, by means of lever 9,

the entire gear train of the machine is, set in motion, the several elements being actuated from the countershaft 13, the helical gear from the driving shaft 17, which, through the sprocket ears 24, and 26 operates countershaft 2 7, and the latter in turn, through the connected sprocket gearing drives the shafts 31 and 38, the former operating the discharge belt 33, which receives the sliced articles from the head "(0 and the shaft 38 operating the conveyor shaft 42, which feeds the articles in predetermined order and properly times relation on to the shelf 44. .The shaft 83 on which is secured the knife carrier is continuously rotated so that the entire series of knives revolve continuously, the blades of the several knives engaging the slots in the head 70 during a part of each revolution, to effect the slicing operation, and passing out of engagement with the slots in the head during the succeeding part of the revolution. It will be noted that, in order to maintain the knife blades 86 in proper alignment with the slots 73 in the head 70, the hub section 85 of each knife is made of sufficient diameter to continuously engage the cooperating slot in the head 70, throughout the entire rotation of the knife, but that the blade portion of each knife passes out of engagement with the corresponding slot as soon as the slicing. operation of the blade has been effected. Also in order to properly position the article Within the head and prevent it passing beyond the discharge end of the latter, the knife carrier is provided with an abutment plate 85' at its rear, see Figure 3. which extends over the opening in the head 70 while the article to be sliced is being fed into the head, but which passes out of registry with the head when the blades of the knives pass into engagement with the slots in the head. It will be noted that the feed conveyor, the delivery conveyor and the rotary knives are driven continuously and the blades sections or knife installations engage the slotted head only during a part of each revolution of the knife carrier. During the other part of the revolution of the knives the mechanism for feeding the articles to be sliced into the head is brought into operation by means of the timing gear I!) on the shaft 13, the feedin mechanism being inoperative during the slicing opera.- tion. by reason of the circumferential tooth or flange on the timing gear 19 being in engagement with the teeth of the helical gear 20. thereby imparting no movement to said gear and its associated mechanism.

\Vhen. however, the slicing operation has been completed, and the blades of the knives pass out of engagement with the slots in the head TO- the helical teeth on the timing gear 19 come into mesh with the teeth of the helical gear 20 and rotate said gear together handling by the operator.

with the shaft 21, which in turn drives the shaft 53 through the sprocket gearing 50, 51 and 52, and the rotation of shaft 53 effects movement of the feed chain 64. An article to be sliced having been delivered by the chain 42 onto the trough section 44, one of the pusher arms on the chain 64 engages the rear end of the article and. the forward movement of the chain advances the article into the head 70. It will be understood that the arms 65 are so spaced on the chain as to effect just the proper extent of movement of the article to force the latter completely Within the head, the movement of the chain bein arrested when the arm 65 engaging the ruit lies just at the forward end of the head 70. In order to prevent the fruit being forced too far into or through the head, the abutment 85 on the rear end of the knife carrier, obstructs the rear end head during the operation of feeding the articles to the head, as hereinbefore described. When the articles have been delivered into the head, the operation of feed chain 64 issuspended, by reason of the engagement of the circumferential tooth section on the timing gear 19, which stops the rotation of the shaft 21, from which the feed chain receives its motion, and this period of rest is maintained during the following operation of the slicing knives, which traverse the slots and sweep across the bore of the head 70, incising the article within the head into uniform slices. As soon as the part revolution of the knife carrier shaft effecting the cutting operation is completed, the feed chain 64 is again started in motion, so that the pusher arm immediately in front of the charging end of the head is moved into and through the head, by the chain traversing the slot 72 in the head, the: pusher arm advancing the sliced fruit through the head and discharging the same onto the conveyor belt 33. At the same time the next succeeding pusher arm of the chain 64 engages the next article to be sliced, which has been delivered by the conveyor 42 onto the shelf 44 and the same series of operations is repeated. L

It will be noted that the entire operation of the machine is automatic and continuous and that, so long as the properly prepared articles to be sliced are presented to the conveyor chain 42, said articles. will be delivered to the slicing mechanism in properly timed relation, the slicing will be effected regularly and uniformly and the sliced articles delivered from the head onto the discharge belt of the conveyor withoutimp-airment and without the necessity of any While the machine .has been described as adapted to the slicing of articles generally, it is particularly adapted to the slicing of fruit, such as pineapples, which have been previously What we claim is:

1. A slicing machine comprising a tubular head provided with aralle circumferential slots and a longitu inal slot in one side thereof, a rotary carrier parallel with the longitudinal axis of said head, a series of knives on said carrier engaging and traversing the slots in said head during the )art of each rotation of the carrier, a chain aving laterally extendin pusher arms adapted to traverse the tu ular head and the slot-therein, means for intermittently driving said chain to feed articles .to be sliced into and through said head, and means on said carrier to prevent movement of the articles beyond the head during the feeding operation. a

2. A slicing machine comprising a tubular head provide-d with parallel circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot on one side thereof, a feed chain having laterally extending pusher arms which traverse said head and the longitudinal slot therein, means for intermittently driving said chain to feed articles into and through said head, continuously rotating knives having blades which engage and traverse said slots during the periods of inaction of said feed chain, and means associated with said knives to prevent movement of the articles beyond bular head provided with parallel circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot on one side thereof, a feed chain having laterally extending pusher arms which traverse said head and the longitudinal slot there in, means for intermittently driving said chain to feed articles into and through said head, continuously rotating knives having blades which engage and traverse said slots during the periods of inaction of said feed chain, means on said carrier to prevent movement of the articles beyond the head during the feeding operation, and means for delivering successive articles to said feed chain.

4. A slicing machine comprising a tubular head provided with parallel circumferential slots, a rotary carrier parallel with the longitudinal axis of said head, lmives arranged in series on said carrier and having arcuate blades engaging said slots during a part of eachrotation of said carrier, means for feeding articles into and through said head, and an abutment on said carrier to limit the movement of said articles into said head.

5. A slicing machine comprising a supporting frame, a tubular ead mounted thereon having a series of circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, a rotary carrier journaled on said frame adjacent said head, a series of knives on said carrier including blades adapted to traverse the slots in said head during a part of each rotation of said carrier and to clear the slots during the remainder of the rotation, a feed chain having lateral arms adapted to traverse said head longitudinally, a motor, and gearing connecting the motor with the knife carrier to rotate the same continuously and with the feed chain to drive the latter only when the knife lades are out of engagement with said head.

i 6. :A slicing machine comprising a supporting frame, a tubular" head mounted thereon having a series of circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, a. rotary carrier journaled on said frame adjacent said head, a series of knives on said carrier including blades adapted to traverse the slots in said head during a part of each rotation of said carrier and to clear the slots during the remainder of the rotation, an endless feed chain ada ted to traverse the longitudinal slot in said head said chain having laterally extending pusher arms to engage and force articles into and through said head, a motor, and gearing connecting the motor with the knife carrier to rotate the same continuously and witlrthe feed chain to drive the latter only when the knife blades are out of engagement with said head.

7 A slicing machine comprising a supporting frame, a tubular head mounted thereon having a series of circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, a rotary carrier-jou'rnaled on said frame adjacent said head, a series of knives on said carrier including blades adapted to traverse the slots in saidhead during a part of each rotation of said carrier and to clear the slots during the remainder of the rotation, a feed table in front of said head, an endless feed chain adapted to, traverse the longitudinal slot in said head said chain having laterally extending pusher arms to engage and force articles into and through said head, a motor, and gearing connecting the motor with the knife carrier to rotate the same continuously and with the feed chain to drive the latter only when the knife blates are out of engagement with said hea 8. A slicing machine comprising a sup-- part of each rotation of said carrier and to clear the slots during the remainder of the rotation, a feed table in front of said head, a conveyor for delivering articles to said table. an endless feed chain adapted to traverse the longitudinal slot in said head said chain having laterally extending pusher arms to engage and force articles into and through said head, a motor, and gearing connecting the motor with the knife carrier to rotate the same continuously and with the feed chain to drive the latter only when the knife blades are out-0f engagement with said head.

9. A slicing machine comprising a supporting frame, a tubular head mounted thereon having a series of circumferential slots and a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, a rotary carrier journaled on said frame adjacent said head, a series of knives on said carrier including blades adapted to traverse the slots in said head during a part of each rotation of said carrier and to clear the slots during the remainder of the rotation, a feed table in front of said head, a conveyor for delivering articles to said table, an endless feed chain adapted to traverse the longitudinal slot in said head said chain having laterally extending pusher arms to engage and force articles into and through said head, a discharge belt to receive the sliced articles from said head, a motor, and gearing connecting the motor With the knife carrier to rotate the same continuously and with the feed chain to drive the latter only when the knife blades are out of engagement with said head.

In testimony whereof We aflix our signatures.

JOHN S. NAPIER. ERNEST M. PORTER. JOHN SILVA. 

